Influencer marketing is a fantastic way to get eyes on your products and services. Brand growth can be a tricky thing, and companies need all the tools of the trade to succeed.

Whether it's getting help with search engine optimization, PPC ads, or a weekly newsletter, pushing your brand matters. And influencer marketing can help you reach a massive audience.

If you're debating whether or not to engage in influencer marketing for your business, we're here to say it's a great idea. The next time you have a digital marketing consultation for your next campaign, it's well worth bringing up influencer marketing.

Let's see why that is.

What Is Influencer Marketing?

Influencer marketing is the use of popular social media accounts to boost engagement. It's more nuanced than that, but it's harnessing the power of social media to help your product get maximum exposure.

Plus, social media influencers have a lot of clout online. When endorsing your product, they're communicating to their vast audience that 'this works.'

Is Influencer Marketing Effective in 2022?

Yes, absolutely. Influencer marketing continues to grow in prominence, helping rake in billions of dollars for businesses everywhere. A great example is football's biggest night, the Super Bowl.

Super Bowl, Super Engagement

In a recent piece for Forbes, writer Jeff Fromm interviewed the VP of marketing for GRIN, Ali Fazal. Fazal emphasizes just how important the Super Bowl is to marketing.

"[The Super Bowl] allows brands to get in front of millions of consumers in one sitting, generate brand awareness and maximize their impact across all generations. Many people watch the Super Bowl specifically for the commercials, eager to see which content creators (celebrities, models, influencers, etc.) will be making a special appearance or what brand/product will be featured."

That's right; influencer marketing is reaching the largest platform in the country.

A large public population loves watching the big game for the creative, innovative advertisements alone. And with nearly 100 million viewers in 2021, that's a third of the country seeing promoted products. Granted, the companies with 30-second spots spend a king's ransom for the coveted ad space.

But still, it's something to consider when choosing to advertise products using prominent influencers.

Building Trust In The Social Media Economy

Trust is everything. When building trust with your audience, it's essential to consider a few things.

• Transparency. Are you open and honest with your audience?
• Communication. Is your brand adequate at communicating with its audience?
• Sincerity. Is your brand sincere when marketing towards people?

In the same piece, Ali Fazal stresses the importance of trust and sincerity from a brand.

"Authenticity is a critical element in how Gen Z views and evaluates brands and their products/services. They want to be able to trust the brand, understand what it stands for, and be confident that it is actually worth all the hype...If a Gen Zer sees a celebrity or creator they know and trust with a brand during the event, they will be more enticed to want to learn more and engage with it afterwards."

Your target audience will not respond favorably toward a brand that has a 'car salesman' type of attitude. Like anyone, they need a product or service to solve an issue for them.

Inserting genuine sincerity, honesty, and transparency strengthens the bond you have with existing and prospective customers.

A Social Powerhouse: TikTok

It's no secret that TikTok is a social media tour de force. Where Facebook and Instagram are undoubtedly powerful tools with impressive engagement numbers, TikTok is quickly gaining steam.

And it's quickly becoming an invaluable resource for businesses in terms of digital marketing.

Companies like BetterHelp found a fantastic way to build brand awareness for their company and create a positive environment to share mental health tips, stories, and more.

This is a case of allowing users to take control. Under the banner of BetterHelp, TikTok users tell their personal stories, spurring further engagement with other users, usually of the same demographic. This snowball effect is essentially influencers building upon existing influence.

And for BetterHelp, it's paid off in spades. Can your business benefit from this social media marketing tactic?

The Best Ways To Launch A Successful Influencer Marketing Campaign

It's time to get into influencer marketer mode.

As such, let's start with a simple list to reach your customers with a great marketing campaign.

Find Your Target Audience

One of the pillars of good marketing, digital or otherwise: find your target market. Whom are you marketing your product toward? What's their demographic data?

We often talk about buyer personas and how they help build a cohesive customer profile. Building upon your buyer persona, consider similar consumers who might respond well to your content.

This is where social media comes in to help. The social media platform can change depending on your buyer persona's target demographic.

According to Pew Research, 48% of U.S. adults ages 18-29 use TikTok. On the flip side, adults over 65 barely register with a measly 4%. So if your buyer persona and target audience are older, TikTok may not work out well during a marketing campaign.

It's all relative. So it's worth hitting the books and finding out who your customers are, what they value, and what solution you can provide them.

What Are Your Goals?

Goals, both short-term and long-term, are always important. So with social media, create an outline or detailed plan of your goals and how to tackle them.

Do you want massive engagement this quarter? Looking for meaningful leads month over month? Want to dominate a specific demographic on Instagram and Facebook? Think about what you want out of a detailed influencer campaign.

Developing Sponsored Content

Sponsored content (or 'SponCon') is a simple yet effective way to get social media influencers to promote your product. For example, you can pay an influencer to make a dedicated post about how your coffee is the best in town. Or maybe how helpful your custom websites are for clients.

Beware, however. Some sponsored content can seem disingenuous and too impersonal. That's why you must discuss at length what you're paying for when advertising to people.

Either way, sponsored content is a game-changer.

Sponsored Content Part 2: The Crucial Follow-Up

Once the influencer creates the perfect post involving your product, the marketing process isn’t over. Far from it, in fact. Now it's time to take that post and amplify it on your own page. When investing in the right influencers, you're potentially investing in a healthy, back and forth partnership that benefits both parties.

Reviews From Influencers

Reviews are a powerful tool. Not only do they allow for customers to rate your product, but they clue everyone else in to see the validity of your business.

If you give the right influencer your product to review, your product could skyrocket in terms of engagements. Likewise, if you have an influencer hold a giveaway or something similar, it makes a creative and effective marketing strategy. The right partnership with the right influencers can mean a world of difference.

Influencer Marketing: A Tactic Worth Trying

Hopefully, the concept of influencer marketing is more evident. More importantly, how are you planning your new, exciting social media campaign?

If you haven't already, it's well worth the resources to give the right influencers the right tools to market to your target audience.

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